For many years, buildings have been equipped with gutters and downspouts for removing water from their roofs and away from their foundations. Typically, the gutters of a building are connected to a number of downspouts. The gutters are usually at a slight incline in the direction of the downspouts so that the force of gravity will cause the rainwater to travel down the incline, through the downspout and exit the opening of the downspout. The inclined gutters are designed so that water does not collect in any one place in the gutters.
A problem of known gutter systems is that the elbow of the downspout only directs water a short distance away from the building. Because of this short distance, water is often exhausted too close to the basement of the building causing the foundation to crack or leak. Another piece of downspout extending on the ground away from the building can be connected to the elbow to exhaust the water further away from the building. However, adding another piece of downspout has several drawbacks. One drawback is that the downspout can only be extended in the same linear direction of the elbow of the downspout because the downspout material is not flexible or bendable. Another drawback is that an extension of downspout material may have to be moved for lawn care or other reasons and the extension of downspout material can be cumbersome to move. Also, the downspout material may be expensive in comparison to other materials.
Attempts have been made in the art to provide a downspout extension that directs water away from a building without simply adding another piece of downspout material. Some examples of these attempts are the bendable, "corrugated" plastic pipes and adapters that are connected to a downspout. Other examples are described in the patents to Sweers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,006), Schlein (U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,669), and Johnson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,419).
Bendable, corrugated, plastic pipe extensions and adapters, such as supplied by Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. of Montezuma, Ga., are known in the prior art. The adapter is connected to the downspout and then the bendable, corrugated plastic pipe is connected to the adapter. Although these corrugated, plastic pipe downspout extensions direct water away from the foundation of a building, they suffer from several drawbacks. One drawback of these corrugated, plastic pipe downspout extensions is that, although bendable, they will not hold their position. Thus, elbows are required when the user needs a turn in the downspout extensions. Another drawback is the number of parts required. These corrugated, plastic pipe downspout extensions with circular cross-sections require an adapter piece to connect to the rectangular cross-sectional downspout and elbows where a turn in the extension is needed. Another drawback of these corrugated, plastic pipe downspout extensions is their fixed length. The user may need a downspout extension of a greater or lesser length than the fixed length provided.
Sweers, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,006, describes an adjustable extension assembly for a downspout that includes a fixed piece attachable to the lowermost end of a downspout, a rotatable collar attached to the fixed piece, and at least one extension pivotably attached to the rotatable collar. The assembly described by Sweers can be pointed in different directions and the assembly can be extended to different lengths. However, one of the drawbacks of Sweers is that the assembly can point only linearly and can not bend around objects.
Schlein, U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,669, describes a plastic bellows elbow with spigot and socket ends. The device is configured for connecting an eaves trough to a downspout. The elbow comprises plastic having limited flexibility and a tendency to cold flow to a predetermined set under sustained pressure and having an elastic memory. The intermediate portion of the coupling is described as being provided with a "bellows formation" that provides a certain degree of flexibility, allowing it to be bent in any direction and expand and contract. However, the bellows in Schlein will not hold its position.
Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,419, describes a hinged extension for downspouts. The hinge allows the downspout extension to be selectively disengaged from the downspout so that the extension can be pivoted to provide clearance for routine yard work. However, the hinged extension described by Johnson is not bendable or flexible and only points in the same direction as the downspout.
The prior art does not satisfy the need for a downspout extension that is inexpensive, flexible, extendible, locks into place, holds its position, requires few parts, and is interlocking to form a downspout extension assembly. The needs outlined above led to the present invention.